There are a number of national museums in the United Kingdom, which are owned and operated by the state. The national museums of the UK are funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) of the British government, and are all located in England. There are 14 national museums, all established by Acts of Parliament, as well as another eight which are sponsored by the DCMS. [1]
In addition, there are national museums in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which are supported by the devolved legislatures. National museums in Scotland are funded by the Scottish Executive Education Department, [2] in Wales by the Welsh Government, [3] and in Northern Ireland by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure of the Northern Ireland Executive. [4]
Free entrance is standard practice in all UK national museums, although some exhibits do require an admission fee to view. Several of the museums have more than one location throughout the UK.
Ulster is one of the four traditional or historic Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland ; the remaining three are in the Republic of Ireland.
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland, where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is "protected structure".
HMS Belfast is a Town-class light cruiser that was built for the Royal Navy. She is now permanently moored as a museum ship on the River Thames in London and is operated by the Imperial War Museum.
The only official flag for Northern Ireland is the Union Flag or Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom; there is no official local flag that represents only Northern Ireland. The flying of various flags in Northern Ireland is a significant sectarian issue, with different communities identifying with different flags.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for culture and sport, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. Its main offices are at 100 Parliament Street, occupying part of the building known as Government Offices Great George Street.
Sir John Lavery was an Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions.
The culture of Northern Ireland relates to the traditions of Northern Ireland. Elements of the Culture of Ulster, the Culture of Ireland as a whole, the Culture of Scotland and the Culture of England are to be found.
Victor Sloan MBE is a Northern Irish photographer and artist.
Paul Seawright is a Northern Irish artist. He is the professor of photography and the Deputy Vice Chancellor at Ulster University in Belfast/Derry/Coleraine. Seawright lives in his birthplace of Belfast.
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure was a devolved government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department was the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure.
William Scott was a prominent abstract painter from Northern Ireland, known for his themes of still life, landscape and female nudes. He is the most internationally celebrated of 20th-century Ulster painters. His early life was the subject of the film Every Picture Tells a Story, made by his son James Scott.
Rita A Donagh is a British artist, known for her realistic paintings and painstaking draughtsmanship.
Frederick William Pomeroy was a prolific British sculptor of architectural and monumental works. He became a leading sculptor in the New Sculpture movement, a group distinguished by a stylistic turn towards naturalism and for their works of architectural sculpture. Pomeroy had several significant public works in London and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, notably in Belfast. His work in London includes the figure of Lady Justice (1905–1906) on the dome of the Old Bailey.
Donovan Wylie is a Northern Irish photographer, based in Belfast. His work chronicles what he calls "the concept of vision as power in the architecture of contemporary conflict" – prison, army watchtowers and outposts, and listening stations – "merging documentary and art photography".
Gladys Maccabe, MBE HRUAFRSA MA(Hons)ROI was a Northern Irish artist, journalist and founder of The Ulster Society of Women Artists.
Peter Edwards,, is a British painter. He won the 1994 BP Portrait Award.